The day after at least 24 elderly evacuees were caught in a deadly fire aboard a Dallas-bound charter bus, there are reports the vehicle's operator had a history of safety problems.

According to the Houston Chronicle on Saturday, the bus that exploded on Interstate 45 a day earlier did not have valid registration. The report suggested the 14-year-old vehicle was likely put on the road anyway, because of the pressing demand to rush people away from Hurricane Rita.

"Because there's been a waiver under Hurricane Katrina and Rita, they don't have to provide (information on) every vehicle they use," Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson Mark Cross told the Chronicle.

Another report published in The Dallas Morning News on Saturday, said that the operator -- Global Limo Inc. -- has had its licence revoked by federal authorities twice since 1993. Company drivers have also been ordered off the road five times in the last 30 months, for violations including failure to produce a driving log.

And in February, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to block an attempted takeover.

Pharr, Texas-based Global Limo was also reportedly on a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration list calling for full inspections of their buses whenever one is stopped by police.

The bus, with a total of 45 people on board, was driving through a southern suburb of Dallas when it pulled over for a tire change.

Police suspect a piece of metal lodged in a wheel may have caused the brakes to lock, overheat and eventually ignite.

As the driver and several passengers rushed to empty the bus, oxygen tanks used by some of the elderly evacuees were touched off by the spreading fire.

Witnesses reported seeing several explosions before the bus was consumed by flames, trapping at least 24 people inside.

The victims are all believed to have been residents
of the Brighton Gardens senior residence in Bellair, southwest of Houston.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board launched an immediate investigation of the incident.